Rockets launched at bases hosting US troops in Iraq and Syria

Update Rockets launched at bases hosting US troops in Iraq and Syria
This photo taken in 2020 shows a view inside Ain al-Asad military airbase housing US and other foreign troops in the western Iraqi province of Anbar. (AFP/File photo)
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Updated 26 July 2024
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Rockets launched at bases hosting US troops in Iraq and Syria

Rockets launched at bases hosting US troops in Iraq and Syria
  • The attack came 2 days after a military summit in Washington where Iraqi and US officials discussed winding down the coalition’s work
  • At least one rocket also fell near a base of the coalition in the Conoco gas field in Deir Ezzor

ANBAR, Iraq: Several rockets were launched Thursday and Friday against bases hosting troops from the US-led anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq and Syria, security officials and a war monitor said.
Such attacks were frequent early in the war between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants in Gaza but since then have largely halted.
“Four rockets fell in the vicinity” of Ain Assad base in Anbar province, an Iraqi security source said.
Another security official said an attack occurred with “a drone and three rockets” that fell close to the base perimeter.
A United States official said initial reports indicated that projectiles landed outside the base without causing injuries or damage to the base.
All sources spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media.
At least one rocket also fell near a base of the coalition in the Conoco gas field in Deir Ezzor province of eastern Syria, according to the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor.
The Observatory said a blast was heard in the area but there were no immediate reports of casualties.
The rocket was fired from “zones under the control of pro-Iranian militia” groups, said the monitor which relies on sources inside Syria.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for either attack.
Iran-backed armed groups in Iraq have largely halted similar attacks on US-backed troops in recent months.
The latest attack come after a security meeting this week between Iraqi and US officials in Washington on the future of the international anti-jihadist coalition in Iraq. Iran-backed groups have demanded a withdrawal.
The US Defense Department said Wednesday “the delegations reached an understanding on the concept for a new phase of the bilateral security relationship.”
This would include “cooperation through liaison officers, training, and traditional security cooperation programs.”
On July 16, two drones were launched against Ain Assad base, with one exploding inside without causing injuries or damage. A senior security official in Baghdad said at the time he believed the attack was meant to “embarrass” the Iraqi government before the security meeting.
For more than three months, as regional tensions soared over the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, United States troops were targeted by rockets and drones more than 175 times in the Middle East, mainly in Iraq and Syria.
The Islamic Resistance of Iraq, a loose alliance of Iran-backed groups, claimed the majority of the attacks, saying they were in solidarity with Gaza Palestinians.
In January, a drone strike blamed on those groups killed three US soldiers in a base in Jordan. In retaliation, US forces launched dozens of strikes against Tehran-backed fighters.
Since then, attacks against US troops have largely halted.
Baghdad has sought to defuse tensions, engaging in talks with Washington on the future of the US-led coalition’s mission in Iraq.
The US military has around 2,500 troops in Iraq and 900 in Syria with the international coalition.
The coalition was deployed to Iraq at the government’s request in 2014 to help combat the Daesh group, which had taken over vast swathes of Iraq and neighboring Syria.
Daesh remnants still carry out attacks and ambushes in both countries.


Gaza rescuers say 16 killed in Israeli strikes Wednesday

Gaza rescuers say 16 killed in Israeli strikes Wednesday
Updated 7 sec ago
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Gaza rescuers say 16 killed in Israeli strikes Wednesday

Gaza rescuers say 16 killed in Israeli strikes Wednesday
  • Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza this month, aiming for ‘the defeat of Hamas’
  • At least 3,822 people had been killed in the territory since Israel ended a ceasefire on March 18
GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Gaza rescuers said sixteen people were killed Wednesday in Israeli strikes across the besieged Palestinian territory where Israel intensified its operations this month.
“Sixteen people have been killed as a result of Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since dawn,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal said.
Among them, nine belonged to the family of photojournalist Osama Al-Arbeed and were killed in a strike on their home in Gaza’s north at 2am, Bassal said.
He added that Arbeed was injured, noting that he is a videographer and editor at a local film production organization.
Another six members of the same family were killed in central Gaza in a strike that left 15 people wounded, “including children.”
One other person, a civilian per Bassal, was killed near the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis.
When contacted by AFP, the Israeli military declined to comment on the strikes, saying it could not do so without precise coordinates.
Israel has stepped up its offensive in Gaza this month, aiming for “the defeat of Hamas,” more than 18 months after the group’s October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.
Some 1,218 people were killed in that attack, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
Militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 who the Israeli military says are dead.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said on Monday that at least 3,822 people had been killed in the territory since Israel ended a ceasefire on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,977, mostly civilians.

UNRWA chief warns of the organization’s dire financial state

UNRWA chief warns of the organization’s dire financial state
Updated 6 min 58 sec ago
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UNRWA chief warns of the organization’s dire financial state

UNRWA chief warns of the organization’s dire financial state
  • UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini gave his remarks during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo

TOKYO: The chief of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) on Wednesday said the organization’s financial situation is desperate, adding that it urgently needs support to continue operations past June.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini gave his remarks during a press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo.


Prabowo: Indonesia may recognize Israel if Palestine gains independence

Prabowo: Indonesia may recognize Israel if Palestine gains independence
Updated 18 min ago
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Prabowo: Indonesia may recognize Israel if Palestine gains independence

Prabowo: Indonesia may recognize Israel if Palestine gains independence
  • The Indonesian President said the two-state solution and the freedom of Palestine is the only way to achieve true peace
  • French President Emmanuel Macron also reaffirmed his wish to see a two-state solution

JAKARTA: Indonesia, the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, is willing to recognize and open diplomatic relations with Israel if an independent Palestinian state is recognized by Tel Aviv, Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto said on Wednesday.

“The two-state solution and the freedom of Palestine is the only way to achieve the true peace. We must acknowledge and guarantee Israel’s rights as a sovereign country that must be paid attention to and guaranteed safety.

Indonesia has stated that once Israel recognizes Palestine, Indonesia is ready to recognize Israel,” he told a news conference.

Standing alongside visiting French President Emmanuel Macron, Prabowo said Israel’s security needs to be guaranteed, and that France would also continue to support steps toward independence for a Palestinian state.

Indonesia does not recognize or share any diplomatic relations with Israel.

French President Emmanuel Macron also reaffirmed his wish to see a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian conflict and said there were no double standards in French policy toward the Middle East.

Macron is leaning toward recognizing a Palestinian state, diplomats and experts say, a move that could infuriate Israel and deepen Western splits. 

“Only a political solution will make it possible to restore peace and build for the long term,” Macron said.

“Together with Saudi Arabia, we will soon be organizing a conference on Gaza in New York to give fresh impetus to the recognition of a Palestinian state and the recognition of the State of Israel and its right to live in peace and security in this region.”


US says supports gas deals with Kurdistan region after Iraq lawsuit

US says supports gas deals with Kurdistan region after Iraq lawsuit
Updated 28 May 2025
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US says supports gas deals with Kurdistan region after Iraq lawsuit

US says supports gas deals with Kurdistan region after Iraq lawsuit
  • “We encourage Baghdad and Irbil to work together to expand domestic gas production as soon as possible

WASHINGTON: The United States said Tuesday it supported American energy companies’ contracts with Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region after the Iraqi government filed a lawsuit against them.
Regional prime minister Masrour Barzani announced the signing of the two deals valued at tens of billions of dollars during a visit to Washington, in which he met Friday with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Rubio in his meeting “commended” the deals with US companies, State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce told reporters.
“We encourage Baghdad and Irbil to work together to expand domestic gas production as soon as possible. These types of economic partnerships will benefit both the American and Iraqi peoples and help Iraq move toward energy independence,” she said.
“We also believe that US and Iraqi interests are best served by having a strong, resilient Iraqi Kurdistan region within a sovereign and prosperous federal Iraq
“As far as the nature of the lawsuits, obviously we are looking forward to continuing these kinds of deals. We expect these kinds of deals to flourish, and expect and would hope that they would be facilitated,” she said.
 

 


Israeli troops fire warning shots as Palestinians overwhelm new Gaza food center

Israeli troops fire warning shots as Palestinians overwhelm new Gaza food center
Updated 28 May 2025
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Israeli troops fire warning shots as Palestinians overwhelm new Gaza food center

Israeli troops fire warning shots as Palestinians overwhelm new Gaza food center
  • The UN and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won’t be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people

MUWASI, Gaza Strip: Chaos erupted on the second day of aid operations by a new US-backed group in Gaza as desperate Palestinians overwhelmed a center distributing food on Tuesday, breaking through fences. Nearby Israeli troops fired warning shots, sending people fleeing in panic.
An AP journalist heard Israeli tank and gunfire and saw a military helicopter firing flares. The Israeli military said its troops fired the warning shots in the area outside the center and that “control over the situation was established.”
At least three injured Palestinians were seen by The Associated Press being brought from the scene, one of them bleeding from his leg.
The distribution hub outside Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah had been opened the day before by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, which has been slated by Israel to take over aid operations. The UN and other humanitarian organizations have rejected the new system, saying it won’t be able to meet the needs of Gaza’s 2.3 million people and allows Israel to use food as a weapon to control the population. They have also warned of the risk of friction between Israeli troops and people seeking supplies.
Palestinians have become desperate for food after nearly three months of Israeli blockade pushed Gaza to the brink of famine.
Palestinians walk miles for food, finding chaos
Palestinians at the scene told AP that small numbers of people made their way to the GHF center Tuesday morning and received food boxes. As word spread, large numbers of men, women and children walked for several miles from the sprawling tent camps along Gaza’s Mediterranean coast. To reach the hub, they had to pass through nearby Israeli military positions.
By the afternoon, hundreds of thousands were massed at the hub. Videos show the crowds funneled in long lines through chain-link fence passages. Two people said each person was searched and had their faces scanned for identification before being allowed to receive the boxes. Crowds swelled and turmoil erupted, with people tearing down fences and grabbing boxes. The staff at the site were forced to flee, they said.
The AP journalist positioned some distance away heard gunfire and rounds of tank fire. Smoke could be seen rising from where one round impacted. He saw a military helicopter overhead firing flares.
“There was no order, the people rushed to take, there was shooting, and we fled,” said Hosni Abu Amra, who had been waiting to receive aid. “We fled without taking anything that would help us get through this hunger.”
“It was chaos,” said Ahmed Abu Taha, who said he heard gunfire and saw Israeli military aircraft overhead. “People were panicked.”
Crowds were seen running from the site. A few managed to secure aid boxes — containing basic items like sugar, flour, pasta and tahini — but the vast majority left empty-handed.
US-backed group says they ‘fell back’ to ensure safety
In a statement, GHF said that because of the large number of Palestinians seeking aid, staff at the hub followed the group’s safety protocols and “fell back” to allow them to dissipate, then later resumed operations.
A spokesperson for the group told the AP that no shots were fired from GHF. Speaking on condition of anonymity in line with the group’s rules, the spokesperson said the protocols aim at “avoiding loss of life, which is exactly what happened.”
GHF uses armed private contractors to guard the hubs and the transportation of supplies. The hub is also close to Israeli military positions in the Morag Corridor, a band of territory across the breadth of Gaza that divides Rafah from the rest of the territory.
GHF has set up four hubs around Gaza to distribute food, two of which began operating on Monday — both of them in the Rafah area.
The UN and other humanitarian groups have refused to participate in GHF’s system, saying it violates humanitarian principles. They say it can be used by Israel to forcibly displace the population by requiring them to move near the few distribution hubs or else face starvation – a violation of international law. They have also opposed the use of facial recognition to vet recipients.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday commented on the turmoil at the Rafah center, saying, “There was some loss of control momentarily … happily we brought it under control.”
He repeated that Israel plans to move Gaza’s entire population to a “sterile zone” at the southern end of the territory while troops fight Hamas elsewhere.
UN says it has been struggling to transport aid
Israel has said the new system is necessary because it claims Hamas has been siphoning off supplies that reach Gaza. The UN has denied that any significant diversion takes place.
Throughout the war, the UN and other aid groups have conducted a massive operation distributing food, medicine and other supplies to wherever Palestinians are located. Israel says GHF will replace that network, but the past week has allowed a trickle of aid to enter Gaza for the UN to distribute.
COGAT, the Israeli military agency in charge of coordinating aid, said on Tuesday that 400 trucks of supplies, mainly food, was waiting on the Gaza side of the main crossing from Israel, but that the UN had not collected them. It said Israel has extended the times for collection and expanded the routes that the UN can use inside Gaza.
Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN humanitarian office OCHA, told reporters in Geneva that agencies have struggled to pick up the supplies “because of the insecure routes that are being assigned to us by the Israeli authorities to use.” He said the amount of aid allowed the past week was “vastly insufficient.”